1. Field of the Invention
The present invention, in general, is directed to a system and method for profiling the interior of a pipeline and, more specifically, for a system and method for profiling the interior of a pipeline by projecting a 360° ring of laser light onto the interior of the pipeline.
2. Description of Related Art
Known systems for profiling or inspecting pipelines typically comprise a television camera or a video camera mounted on a self-propelled electric tractor or on a sled pushed by a semi-rigid cable along the pipe from an open end of the pipe. Lights are attached to illuminate the pipeline interior. Both the lights and the camera are powered by the cable. An image of the pipeline is captured by the camera and recorded by a recording device for viewing.
Currently, laser profilers are used in conjunction with such systems to collect survey data and create pipeline reports containing the measurement of faults and other features inside a pipeline. This is done by projecting a 360° ring of laser light onto the internal pipe surface. The laser image is viewed via the camera and analyzed by software to build a digital pipe profile.
Typical laser profilers are designed to employ a circular array of line emitting lasers to project the light ring. However, a line laser projected onto the interior surface will have a varying line thickness. Also, the adjacent lasers project lines that overlap causing additional line thickness variations. These line thickness inconsistencies result in inaccurate data surveys and unreliable information. Furthermore, the alignment of the rotational aspect of adjacent lasers is a time consuming task in order to yield a clean ring of light.
Accordingly, a need exists for a laser profiler that eliminates the need for a plurality of redundant laser diodes. A further need exists for a laser profiler that eliminates alignment issues and produces a crisp ring of light having a uniform width.